Bethune Cookman vs Seton Hall Odds and Picks (Nov. 28)

• The Seton Hall Pirates kick off a lengthy home stand with a visit from the new-look Bethune Cookman Wildcats
• The Pirates enjoy a 4-1 SU start to the season, while the Wildcats have struggled in the early going 
• Read on for all the odds and trends ahead of Sunday afternoon’s matchup at Prudential Center

The Seton Hall Pirates will be looking to pad their win column when they kick off a five-game homestand on Sunday perched as heavy 31.5-point favorites against the visiting Bethune-Cookman Wildcats.

Tip off is set for 12pm ET on Sunday at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Bethune Cookman vs Seton Hall Odds

*Odds as of November 27 from BetMGM

Wildcats vs Pirates Betting Trends

Sunday afternoon’s matchup marks the first ever meeting between these two clubs. Fresh off their first Big East regular season title win in three decades, the Pirates have enjoyed a steady 4-1 start, capped by Wednesday’s 62-59 road victory over California.

Seton Hall SURVIVES against California. pic.twitter.com/OSeqvSrB7Y

— College Basketball Bonanza (@CollegeBonanza) November 25, 2021

However, they have failed to cover in each of their past two outings, including this week’s 79-76 loss to Ohio State as 2.5-point home chalk. Despite that loss, the Pirates have gotten the job done defensively, sparking a 4-1 run for the UNDER in totals betting.

FLAMES WIN IN DAYTONA ‼️🏁
Liberty defeats Bethune-Cookman 59-51, for their first DI win of the season! #Fanem🔥 pic.twitter.com/r8vBxnI8Xe

— A Sea of Red (@ASeaofRed) November 23, 2021

Conversely, the Wildcats have faced adversity early on while opening their schedule on a 1-5 SU run, capped by Tuesday’s 59-51 loss to Liberty. Bettors have discovered a silver lining at the sportsbooks, where BCU has racked up three straight against the spread victories, all as betting underdogs. However, the club has produced mixed results in totals betting, with the OVER/UNDER going 3-3.

Bethune-Cookman Wildcats Outlook

The Wildcats have faced a tough test to find chemistry in the early going this season after being idle for all of last season. Faced with the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic BCU elected to suspend all team sports in 2020-21. As a result, this season’s Wildcats’ lineup features all new faces.

Bethune-Cookman will not play sports during the 2020-2021 school year due to an increase in COVID-19 cases on the school's campus.

This decision affects men's and women's basketball and football. pic.twitter.com/kUB5z5aVJb

— Front Office Sports (@FOS) October 27, 2020

Despite facing the daunting task of resurrecting the school’s program following a year-long shutdown, the Wildcats have shown steady improvement since opening their schedule with crushing losses to South Florida, Middle Tennessee, and Utah.

In addition to knocking off Bryant 81-75 as 18-point home underdogs, the squad managed to keep things relatively close while covering in their recent losses to Air Force and Liberty. However, they have plenty of work to do to overcome a track record of futility against nationally-ranked teams, going 0-25 SU all-time while falling to defeat by an average margin of 40.8 points in those contests.

What a win for Bethune-Cookman against Bryant, 81-75.

Joe French ends the afternoon with 20 points. Dylan Robertson had 21 for BCU. It’s their first win since March 5th 2020.

— Nick Lorensen (@nlorensensports) November 20, 2021

If the Wildcats have any hope of keeping things close, they will need another big performance out of Joe French. The sophomore guard is coming off a 25-point, seven-rebound outing in Tuesday’s loss to Liberty, and currently leads BCU with 14.2 points per game.

Seton Hall Pirates Outlook

The Pirates vaulted five positions in the AP Top 25 to No. 21 this week on the strength of a 3-0 season-opening run, capped by an impressive 67-65 victory over No. 4 Michigan as 8-point road underdogs.

The squad failed to maintain that momentum in their subsequent date with the Buckeyes at the Fort Myers Tip-Off. Seton hall fell behind early and trailed by as many as 12 points in the second half before storming back to tie the game in the dying seconds on their way to a heartbreaking 79-76 defeat.

#Buckeyes win! #Buckeyes win!#OhioState and Seton Hall were tied with seconds remaining and .@MeechieJohnson0 drains the deep 3 for the .@OhioStateHoops win!#GoBucks .@CBBonFOX
pic.twitter.com/0IWEMwOzzl

— Buckeye Fans Only (@buckeyefansonly) November 23, 2021

Seton hall did itself no favors in their next contest, hanging on for a narrow three-point victory over the Golden Bears despite shooting just 34% from the field, and a meager 22.2% from three-point country.

What an adjustment for Jared Rhoden to get the bucket for @SetonHallMBB 😤 pic.twitter.com/HZdSVAUkjU

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) November 23, 2021

Jared Rhoden enjoyed an early-season breakthrough during the team’s two contests in Fort Myers. Things could have gone much worse for the Pirates against the Buckeyes were it not for Rhoden, who led the Seton hall attack with a collegiate career-high 29 points. Rhoden has now averaged 25 points over his past two outings, and leads the team with 18.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.

The Pick: Pirates -31.5 (-110)